Knowledge centre
Importer and exporter checklist
Something you can print and hand to a warehouse team. None of it is complicated; nearly all border trouble with pallets comes from one of these steps being skipped.
Stage 1
Before you order pallets
- Establish the direction of travel: domestic, GB to EU, EU to GB, or GB to Northern Ireland.
- Establish whether the packaging will be solid timber. If it is, ISPM 15 is in scope.
- Decide whether the pallet needs to come back. That decides material and grade more than anything else.
- Write the requirement into the purchase order: footprint, marking, treatment where relevant, condition.
Stage 2
On receipt of the pallets
- Measure a sample deck: 1200 x 800 mm confirms Euro-format.
- Read the blocks. Where treatment matters, find the IPPC mark, the country and operator codes and the treatment code.
- Where EPAL marking matters, check the brand marks, control staple, licence and date, and the repair marking nail on repaired pallets.
- Reject or quarantine anything unmarked, illegible or inconsistent with the delivery note. Photograph it.
Stage 3
While loading
- Check every timber item, not just the pallets: bearers, chocks, blocks, offcuts and bracing are wood packaging too.
- Keep marks visible and legible. Do not wrap, label or paint over them.
- Look for bark. Wood packaging is expected to be free of bark beyond small tolerated pieces.
- Watch for repairs made with untreated timber after the pallet was marked.
Stage 4
Records
- Photograph marked blocks and file the images against the consignment reference.
- Keep supplier confirmations of treatment and marking with the order paperwork.
- Note pallet grade, quantity and any rejections, so a dispute can be reconstructed later.
- Re-check current GOV.UK guidance whenever you open a new lane or a long gap has passed.
The one habit worth building
Photograph the blocks. It costs a minute, it settles arguments with suppliers and customers, and it gives you something concrete if a consignment is questioned. Most disputes we are asked about would have been closed in an email had anyone taken a photograph before the wrap went on.
If you would like a second pair of eyes, the pallet checker will walk you through the same questions and let you send photographs with an enquiry. It returns cautious categories only — it does not tell you a consignment is compliant.
A checklist, not a clearance
Working through this list does not make a consignment compliant and does not replace advice from your freight forwarder or a plant-health professional.